Barleycove facts for kids
Barleycove (sometimes spelled Barlycove) is a beautiful beach and a small area, called a townland, located in County Cork, on the sunny south coast of Ireland. It's found near a famous landmark called Mizen Head, which is at the very tip of the Mizen Peninsula. The closest villages to Barleycove are Crookhaven and Goleen.
This area is very popular, especially when the weather is warm in the summer. People love to visit Barleycove for its wide, sandy beach and stunning views. The beach itself is super important for nature. The European Union has even named it a Special Area of Conservation. This is because of all the different kinds of plants and animals that live in its unique sand dunes.
How Barleycove's Dunes Were Made
Have you ever wondered how Barleycove got its amazing sand dunes? They have a really interesting story that goes back a long time!
On November 1, 1755, a huge earthquake shook the city of Lisbon, which is in Portugal. This earthquake was so powerful that it caused a giant ocean wave, known as a tsunami, to travel across the Atlantic Ocean.
Historical records, like those in the Cork Journal from back then, reported that waves as tall as 15 feet hit the coast of Ireland! This enormous wave moved a massive amount of sand. It pushed all that sand into the area where Barleycove is today. This is how the wide, sandy beach and the big dunes we see there now were created. It's like nature's own way of sculpting the land!
